Conservative Thought in the Time of Covid (Part II)

The modern term for the non-conservative side of politics is “progressive”. In its dishonesty, it is the perfect word because it embodies the notion of destination, with the policies of “progressives” aimed towards reaching that destination: equality, equity, justice, fairness or whatever. There is some abstract outcome in the mind’s eye of those who line up behind the progressive banner, with the political policies adopted aimed at some pre-determined outcome which almost invariably means the suppression, if not the actual disappearance to the greatest extent possible, of private business.

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To use the terms “socialist” or “Marxist” gives the game away. Marxists seek the “classless society” in which business ownership has been abolished, the means of production are in the hands of the state, and where only the “working class” exists led by some group of leaders who make all productive…